Internal combustion engine



April 5 1933- A. T. PRENTICE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed April 21,1930 2 Sheets-Sheet Inventor y I Attorney- April 25, '1933. A, PREWC;1,906,095-

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed April 21, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 57Attorney UNITED STATES? Patented Apr. 25, 1933 PATENT, OFFICE ranmrron,or VALPAItAISO, Intranet I TERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Application filedApril 21, 1930. Serial nd. 445th.

My invention relates to improvements in internal combustion engines andit more especially consists of the features pointed out inthe claims. 1

The purpose of my inventionis to provide an'ovel engine construction :inwhich the piston and cylinder both move toward and away from each other,that connects'the piston to a crank oppositeito that which reciprocatesthe cylinder; thatutilizes any desired form of valve control;'thatoperates on theDiesel, or self ignition principle; .that for a givenweight produces a large increase in power over that supplied by anordinary internal combustion engine inwhijch only the piston is inmotionandthe cylinder is stationary;that because of the simultaneousmovement of the piston. and cylinder the engine does notbecome heated,in consequence the usual heat losses are eliminated and a'water jacketfor a cooling purposes is not'required; and furthermore the usualignition system is also eliminated. l 2. Withthese and'other endsinview, I illustrate in the accompanying drawings such instances ofadaptation as will disclose the broad underlying features of theinvention without limitinginyself to the specific details shown thereonand described herein.

Figure 1 is anelevation insection of an assembled engine showing thepiston and cylinder in firing position. 1 Fig. 2 is a top plan view insection on line 22 of Fig.1. t

Fig. 3 is an elevation in section showing the piston and cylinderseparated. j

Fig. 41 is a detached elevation of a packing i sg e 1 i 5 is detachedsectional view showing the cylinderreceivin'g a fuel charge.

Fig. 6 is a detached sectional view showing the ignition chamberopposite the fuel inlet.

' In practicing my invention I may use what ever alternatives" orequivalents of structure that the exigencies of variable conditions maydemand without departing from the broad spirit of my invention; r

The outstanding feature of my reaction motor resides inthe use of acrankshaft, to which a "sliding cylinder is attached by a actuated by a cam'27 against a compression pair of connecting rods and to'which a pistonconnecting rod is also attached in opposition, so that at the detonationof the compressed charge the pistonand cylinder head move in oppositedirections away from each other.

Any desired type of easing may beused. It may provide :forprecompression or any cooperating modifications. Asinstanced in thedrawings, a simple form is shown at 1. It may comprise a removable head.2 and a separable crank casing 8. Between the main vcasing 1 andi'thebottom or crank case 3,"a

crank shaft 4 is rotatable in bearings 6. The casing 1 may have endwiseprojections 5. At itsupper endit is "enlarged in diameter to accommodatea sleeve valvewhich has an endwise movement to control the admission offuel etc. It has ahead 18 and a cylindrical projection 19. This forms asleeveinwhich there is an annular ignition chamber 17. An opening leadsinto the chamber '17. -It registers-with the passageway21 formed in thecasing 1 when the'sleeve is in its lowered position. .At that time theheadi12 of] the cylinder 11 will in its upstroke have passed a We thecharging chamber 17 of the sleeve 18- 19, so that when the port 20 is inline with thepassageway 21 the charging chamberwill be" sealed 01f bythe wall of the cylinder 11 i i The sleeve 18-19 may be actuated by alink 23 connected to'arocker arm 24, which in turn is moved by a rod 25,and itin turn is spring26. Thecain27 is driven by gears 28 and the crankshaft 4:. The ratio of the gears and the shape of the cam 27 may bevaried as desired. Directly beneath the head12 of the reciprocatingcylinder-'11 ports 16: are formed. These, when the cylinder is in itslowest or firing position, are opposite wall of the casing 1. 7 Thepiston 9 is'attached to the crank 7'by connecting rod 10, and the cranks8 are connected to' the ears 14015 the cylinder 11- by meansofconnecting rods 13 attachedto pins 15. A fuel chamber 22'is controlledby a rod 29 actuatedtromthecrank shaft inany desired manner and sequenceas, for instance,

by a cam 30 and gears 38. The fuel inlets and exhaust outlet are shownin Figs. 1, 3 and 5. Sealing-off rings of any well known type are placedabove and below the opening 20 on the outside of the sleeve 19, andsimilar sealing-off rings are placed on the inner wall of the sleeve 19above and below the ignition chamber 17. Similarly the outer surface ofthe cylinder 11 is also sealed-off by rings positioned above and belowthe ports 16. Between the inner surface of the cylinder and the outersurface of the piston the usual piston rings are placed.

In the position shown in Fig. 1, the cylinder is in its lowest positionand the piston is in its highest position leaving a space between forthe firing charge which at this point is detonated by the heat ofcompression. The cylinder head 12 and the piston 9 move away from eachother, thus securing a marked increase in power without incurring theusual heat losses.

The rocker arm 24 may have a slot 31 a its fulcrum 32, which may beadjustable so as to vary the movement of the sleeve link 23. I mayactuate the fuel control of the chamber 22 in any desired manner bymeans of a lever 33 connected to the stem 29. A cam 30 is driven bygears 38 and the crank shaft 4. This raises and lowers the stem 29 incooperation with a spring 39. An exhaust port 37, when the cylinder isin its highest position communicates with the exhaust outlet 36 formedin the casing 1. In order that the sealing-off rings of the cylinder 11do not slip into the ignition chamber 17 I may form bridges. 34, shownon Fig. 4, openings 35 are formed behind the bridges so as to preservecommunication all around the ignition chamber 17.

The cycle of operation is quite simple. Under the pressure produced bythe explosion fired by the heat of compression the cylinder head 12moves up and the piston moves downward. At the end of such movement theexhaust port 37 of the cylinder comes into line with the port 36 thusfreeing the power space from the carbon monoxide. The cylinder nowstarts downward as the piston starts upward. The first movement downwardof the cylinder closes the exhaust port 37 and the inlet ports 16 areopposite the ignition chamber 17 This has just previously, while in itslowered position received a charge of fuel through the openings 20 and21 but now being in its raised position the passageway 21 is sealed offand the charge enters the cylinder to be compressed for the nextdetonation, after which the cycle is repeated.

It has been shown by careful experiments that the piston of an internalcombustion engine does not become heated due to its rapid motionwhich,the faster it moves, becomes more and more cool. The explosivecharge is, by reasonof the cylinder and piston being connected toopposite positions on the crank shaft, expanded in two directions. Ifdesired, I may combine any cooperating form of pre-heater in connectionwith the casing and the cylinder. I do not limit myself to the use of asleeve valve as any well known form of poppet valve may be used instead.

In such an event the casing head 2 would be closed tightly and the spacebetween the cylinder head 12 and the head 2 used for preliminarycompression in which case suitable ports leading to the ignition chambermay be provided.

As this reacting engine is of commanding importance, it is claimed inits broadest scope without being limited to any specific form ofcooperating valves, ports, etc.

What I claim is:

1. A reacting engine, comprising a shaft having a plurality of cranksthereon in opposite relation to each other, a casing having bearings forthe shaft, a cylinder having a closed end slidable in the casing, apiston slidable within the cylinder below the closed end, connectionsfrom the cylinder and the piston to opposite portions of the crankshaft, and cooperating means comprising a slidable sleeve outside of thereciprocating cylinder for detonating a fuel charge between the pistonand the cylinder head when these are nearest to each other thedetonation occurring through the heat of compression of the fuel, saidsleeve having a closed end and giovable adjacent the closed end of thecylin- 2. In a reaction engine, a reciprocating cylinder, a casingtherearound, a slidable sleeve between the casing and the cylinder, areciprocating piston within the cylinder, a crank shaft, a pair ofconnecting rods from the cylinder to one side of the crank shaft, and aconnecting rod from the piston to the opposite side of the crank shaft.

3. A reacting engine, comprising a casing, a shaft in the casing, aplurality of oppositely positioned cranks formed on the shaft, a closedhead to the casing, a cylinder having a closed head slidable in thecasing with its head in opposition to the head in the casing, a pistonslidable within the cylinder, a closed end sleeve between the cylinderand the casing and movable adj acent to and enclosing the cylinder head,connecting means from the cylinder and piston to oppositely positionedcranks of the crank shaft said means comprising a pair of connectingrods for the cylinder and a single connecting rod for the piston, andmeans for explosively moving the piston and the cylinder head away fromeach other. 7

1? In a reaction engine, a casing having a cylindrical chamber open atone end and closed at the other, a tubular cylinder open at one endclosed at the other slidable in the casing, cooperating means comprisinga closed ended valve enclosing the closed end of the cylinder andmovable between the casing and the cylinder, a piston slidable in thetubular cylinder, and means for imparting reciprocating motion to thepiston and cylinder in opposite directions at recurring periods Withoutrecourse to Water cooling.

In testimony whereof I afiix m signature.

ALFRED T. PR NTICE.

